I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 21 : Boxing Match (1)

Class 1 cadets moved to the indoor gymnasium where several boxing corners had been set up.

"These are special sandbags that can withstand even my punches. They'd remain intact even if shot by a cannon."

Oh Chang-seong said, stroking a large sandbag covered with demonic beast leather with affectionate hands.

"Those who want to hit it can do so freely. Of course, experienced cadets will focus on sparring."

"I have a question!"

Kwon Seung-yeon raised her hand.

"Yeah, relax."

"Can we use our characteristics?"

"Oh. Good question."

Oh Chang-seong chuckled.

"Characteristics will not be used. Each of you will wear these temporary restraints to limit mana use and fight using only physical abilities. That's the only way to properly cultivate boxing skills."

"Yes, sir."

"We'll start with the basics. If you can properly use boxing skills in actual combat, your fighting will advance to the next level."

'That's right,' Su-hyeon thought.

'If there are awakened who mindlessly wield their characteristics, and above them are those who understand and properly utilize their characteristics.'

Above those are awakened who know how to mix their characteristics with martial arts, weapon techniques, and other skills.

'It's case by case, of course.'

But it was a proposition that mostly applied to awakened who specialized in close combat.

"Any more questions?"

"How will the sparring partners be determined?"

"Basically, we'll match similar weight classes. We'll also distinguish between practitioners and non-practitioners. For non-practitioners, we'll need to teach the basics, but if you have training experience, we can skip unnecessary processes."

Oh Chang-seong divided the cadets into two groups: practitioners and non-practitioners.

"Twelve practitioners and eighteen non-practitioners."

Hong In-hyeon, Park Chang-jun, Kwon Seung-yeon, Hwang Ji-su, Su-hyeon, and others stood on the practitioner side.

Meanwhile, Lee Yu-jin, Seo Jun-seong, Kang Geon-woo, Go Do-il, Nam Tae-hoon, Kim Ho-su, and others stood on the non-practitioner side.

"Non-practitioners will first learn the basics."

Oh Chang-seong grinned.

"But before that, let's have the practitioners demonstrate for their friends."

"!"

"Any volunteers?"

"Is designation possible?"

Park Chang-jun was the one who raised his hand.

"Hmm. No reason to stop you."

"I'd like to designate Jeong Su-hyeon."

"!!"

All the cadets turned their attention to the two.

'He got knocked down with one hit and he's coming back for more?'

'That guy is something else.'

"Are you serious?"

Su-hyeon asked without changing his expression, to which Park Chang-jun sneered.

"Of course. Are you scared?"

"......Are you really serious?"

Su-hyeon had to ask once more.

"I was caught off guard then, but this time will be different."

"Pfft!"

Nam Tae-hoon couldn't hold back his snicker.

'Even though I haven't learned it in depth, I'm not bad enough to lose to that guy.'

Of course, Park Chang-jun had his reasons for confidence.

'Last time I was just unlucky to get hit in a vital spot. If I'd been hit elsewhere, it wouldn't have been a problem.'

His self-rationalization was almost at the level of logic.

'Is this guy really an idiot?'

Hong In-hyeon shook his head in disdain.

[A quest has appeared!]

[Sub-quest: Boxing Class]

[This is a boxing match conducted under no-mana rules.]

[Defeat the challengers.]

'Here it comes.'

Su-hyeon's lips curved slightly as he checked the quest window.

The boxing matches with cadets that would occur because of this quest.

It was a mini-game created with considerable completeness, so among veteran players, many focused solely on mastering this stage.

'Nothing better than this when bored.'

Moreover, he now had the cheat skill "Eye Power" equipped.

'Eye Power isn't a characteristic, so it's fine to use it.'

Su-hyeon was not one to hesitate in using loopholes.

"So, will you accept?"

At Oh Chang-seong's question, Su-hyeon nodded.

"Yes."

"Good. Then change into your gear and come out."

Oh Chang-seong handed out boxer's pants.

"Wow."

"Whoa."

When Su-hyeon returned after taking off his top and changing into trunk pants, everyone's gaze turned to admiration.

'Hmm.'

Even Hong In-hyeon was secretly impressed.

Though his physique seemed solid even with clothes on, now it was clear he was the type who actually looked thinner when dressed.

A body sculpted with properly developed muscles without body fat.

Yet his shoulders and chest were definitely broad, and his thorax was thicker than it looked, giving an intimidating impression at a glance.

"Amazing!"

Kang Geon-woo, who boasted the best physique in Class 1, had a face full of admiration.

'Incredible.'

'Insane.'

Some female cadets nodded, quietly agreeing with Kang Geon-woo's applause.

'Su-hyeon. You've trained your body intensely.'

Lee Yu-jin just blinked at his body, trained in a way quite different from the swordsmen she had seen at the dojo.

"Hehehe."

The one most pleased by their reactions wasn't Su-hyeon himself, but Kwon Seung-yeon.

'Even the seniors at the strength training room are impressed. That's how it should be.'

Why she felt proud on his behalf was something no one knew.

Meanwhile, Park Chang-jun's body also showed signs of training, but it couldn't compare to Su-hyeon's.

"Ahem."

Revealing his discomfort with a cough, Park Chang-jun asked.

"Won't we use headgear?"

"What a weak thing to say."

Oh Chang-seong dismissed him.

"Fight with the determination to KO your opponent."

"Yes."

Su-hyeon replied.

"Three minutes, two rounds should be enough, right?"

"That's sufficient."

Watching the two wearing restraints and putting on boxing gloves, Lee Yu-jin thought.

'Does Chang-jun really have something he believes in? Judging from last time, his movements couldn't match at all.'

That image of Park Chang-jun throwing a big punch, Su-hyeon dodging it, and simply delivering a liver blow that floored him.

From her perspective, having trained and sparred daily at her grandfather's kendo school, the difference in skill was crystal clear.

Meanwhile.

'This time, I'll be able to see more of Jeong Su-hyeon's real skills.'

Seo Jun-seong's eyes quietly sparkled.

'His movements during the offense and defense against Instructor Oh Chang-seong were quite impressive. If his boxing skills are also excellent, he'll be a more formidable opponent.'

So far, Su-hyeon's skills remained unknown to him.

'That Park Chang-jun is really an idiot.'

Hwang Ji-su snorted.

She recalled the video from the entrance exam that she had obtained through her father's connections.

Who had been Su-hyeon's opponent at that time?

Oh Chang-seong had the power to create enough wind pressure to knock out examinees just by punching the air.

In addition to that, overwhelming speed and flexibility plus athletic ability, and the accuracy and hand technique of his punches.......

From any perspective, he was an opponent in a completely different class from the examinees.

'The fact that he generated such power while wearing restraints and without transformation is unbelievable.'

Yet Su-hyeon had faced Oh Chang-seong head-on, dodging all attacks and exchanging offensive and defensive moves.

'Even Lee Yu-jin was quickly subdued in a one-on-one fight. That Nam Tae-hoon guy, if not for his ability to move between shadows, would have been grabbed by the collar and thrown down after swinging his dagger just once.'

The three of them jointly attacked Oh Chang-seong and exchanged offense and defense?

If one heard that without thinking, they might just accept it.

But if it had been any other cadet instead of Su-hyeon, even with three people attacking, they wouldn't have lasted even 30 seconds before being picked off one by one.

'But was it also Lee Yu-jin's plan for Jeong Su-hyeon to be in that position? Honestly, I'm not sure.'

Her gaze quickly scanned Lee Yu-jin and Su-hyeon.

'Anyway, there's no way Jeong Su-hyeon will lose.'

Ironically, among them, Hwang Ji-su, who liked Su-hyeon the least, was the one who rated him the highest.

"Alright then, both sides get up on the corner!"

❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀

"Fight!"

With Oh Chang-seong's declaration, Park Chang-jun approached cautiously, following proper footwork.

It was a basic stance with both hands raised and the back hand against his cheek.

My stance, on the other hand, was a low hand guard.

With my left hand stretched forward and slightly lowered, and my right hand tight near my chin.

Swish!

As his left jab extended, I blocked the punch with my front hand.

'Not that heavy.'

A typical jab focused on speed rather than power.

'Well, not bad.'

The fastest punch will always be a jab.

A jab is basically a punch thrown quickly using only the arm without engaging the body.

Given that its principle and purpose are focused on speed, a properly executed jab from a skilled practitioner is so fast that one might have to take the hit even knowing it's coming.

'This isn't at that level.'

Of course, it showed much better fundamentals than the telephone punch he had thrown in excitement at the cafeteria.

Swoosh!

As another left jab flew in, I dodged to the side while planting a front hand hook squarely on Park Chang-jun's face.

Smack!

"Wow!"

"So fast!"

'His reactions are slow.'

Just by exchanging a couple of blows, I could roughly gauge Park Chang-jun's skill level.

'Of course, facing someone in reality is completely different from experiencing them through a game screen.'

He was only at a level where I could easily counter him by reading the shoulder movement just before extending a punch and the attack timing.

'Now from this side.'

I lightly extended a jab, hitting above Park Chang-jun's face guard.

Thud!

A distinctly different impact sound was heard as Park Chang-jun's arm was pushed back.

'The refinement is different.'

A punch should be extended as if throwing rather than pushing.

If one understands that sensation of gathering and exploding kinetic energy in an instant with a body that has achieved relaxed deactivation, one can create tremendous speed with almost no effort.

'I should probably suppress my strength a bit more.'

If I used my current punching power as is, I could quickly knock out Park Chang-jun, despite him being close to my weight class.

'A heavyweight's jab is like a light heavyweight's KO punch.'

Metaphorically speaking, the physical specs between me and Park Chang-jun had that much of a difference.

"Eeek!"

Shu-shu-shu!

I easily deflected Park Chang-jun's rapid jabs and straights with a backstep combined with ducking, slipping back.

"He dodged again."

"He doesn't even get hit by a jab?"

The legendary boxer known for his extreme evasiveness and defense, "The Money" Floyd Mayweather Jr., was said to have a jab speed of 300 km/h.

Naturally, if such a jab is extended from just a few dozen centimeters away, it should be impossible to dodge.

But.

I could dodge it.

Thud!

After hitting his abdomen with a weighted left power jab, I stepped back again with a backstep to avoid his pursuing hook.

'This is his level.'

Just by exchanging jabs, the difference in skill was clearly evident.

'In that case.'

Time to move to the next step.

'Eye Power activate.'

Kiing!

As my vision turned black and white, the sensation of visual information being hammered into my brain at over 200% made every hair on my body stand on end.

'It works well indeed.'

Unlike characteristics, skills are barely affected by restraints.

Perhaps thanks to that, the Eye Power activation was proceeding without any problems.

'This ends the game.'

Having good eyes is a huge merit.

If you can see shoulder movements, gazes, steps, and weight shifts all at once, and then add the dynamic visual acuity to clearly see the incoming attacks.

You can easily dodge any punch thrown.

Bung! Buuung!

I dodged all of Park Chang-jun's front hand jab followed by back hand straight, body blow, and hook, then planted a right straight precisely on his exposed face.

"Kuk!"

Having taken significant damage, Park Chang-jun hastily raised his guard to his face and backpedaled.

"Weak chin."

"Shut up!"

Park Chang-jun charged again, using his head to throw various punch combinations.

'Slow.'

Weaving, ducking, shoulder roll, sway, block, parrying.

I displayed a picture-perfect defense using various evasive techniques and guard skills.

"Wow."

"He's really good."

Eventually, the one getting tired was Park Chang-jun, who ended up throwing punches into the air.

"Huk! Huuk!"

Compared to the paint ball avoidance training I did with Park Min-cheol, dealing with these punches wasn't so difficult.

It felt almost like practicing forms with coordinated, slow movements.

Of course, the one getting hit was naturally Park Chang-jun.

Bak! Baak!

I deflected a punch with slipping and fed him a precise counter hook, then stepped back with a backstep and landed a body blow for additional damage.

"Kuuk!"

Park Chang-jun exhaled empty air as he took damage to his abdomen.

"Wow, that must hurt."

"Stone fist, stone fist."

"Park Chang-jun isn't landing anything properly?"

'This is good warm-up training.'

To me, Park Chang-jun was just a sparring partner suitable for checking my senses and techniques.

This was a mini-game I had won countless times as a gamer using defense, evasion, and covering, even without Eye Power.

Now with the Eye Power skill activated, I wasn't taking even a single effective hit.

"Damn it!"

He charged once more, recklessly throwing a one-two straight combination.

'Both the timing and attack route are too honest.'

At least in boxing, honesty is not a good virtue.

'It just makes you easy prey for counters.'

Tak!

I extended my front hand guard forward to deflect his jab.

Then, as his back hand straight came in, I ducked by bending my knees and upper body, moved around to his left, and.

Baak!

I planted a left body blow right into Park Chang-jun's liver.

"Huup!"

It was the same spot I had hit in the cafeteria.

Of course, I substantially reduced my power since he shouldn't collapse with one hit.

"Huuk! Huuk."

He took a heavy blow and backed away to catch his breath.

'That must be quite painful.'

Despite the difference in strength between the left and right hands, the reason a left body blow is more powerful than a right body blow.

That's because the vital point, the liver, is located on the right side of the human torso, where it can be hit with a left.

'Moreover, since he was suddenly hit while attacking, the impact must be tremendous.'

Unless he consciously tenses his abs.

When hit at such timing, cold sweat streams down and excruciating pain shoots up the spine.

'The stomach is most devastating when hit unexpectedly.'

"Huu. Huuu."

I waited patiently until Park Chang-jun caught his breath and recovered from the damage.

"I won't hit you, so breathe slowly."

"Kuk kuk kuk."

My taunting words caused laughter to erupt from here and there, and Park Chang-jun's face turned bright red.

"You bastard, what do you think you're doing?"

To the guy who was growling with an ugly, distorted face, I kindly answered.

"Don't collapse too quickly."

Since I've only hit you a few times so far.